Co-teaching is an increasingly popular special education service delivery model. It provides ALL students with access to the general education curriculum and high quality content instruction in addition to the supports and adjustments they needto succeed.

Co-teaching consists of a general educator and special educator who work as a team to plan and implement instruction. At its best, co-teaching improves student performance and is mutually beneficial for the teachers involved. Co-teaching models include:

Myths exist because they sound intuitively correct and support stereotypical thinking.The facts are clearly supported by educational research evidence.

INFORMATION, RESOURCES, AND SUPPORT

INFORMATION, RESOURCES, AND SUPPORT

INFORMATION, RESOURCES, AND SUPPORT

The individualized education program (IEP) servesas a special education student’s road map tosuccess. Just as drivers must carefully navigate through traffic in order to get to their destinationsafely, the IEP team must hold the creation ofstudents' goals in high regard.

Goals should reflect the unique learning style and ability of the student and portray a high level of expectation for student growth. This section will provide information on the philosophy and value of writing purposeful goals, along with hints on constructing goals which are truly meaningful for students.

Through collaborative, purposeful goal writing and solid instructional practices, students will use the “map” to successfully engage and progress in school, ultimately reaching THEIR destination.

Effective IEP development is a way to examine what we are teaching and why we are teaching it.

Information and resources from the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY) include (1) different approaches; (2) "short and sweet reads;" (3) tips, strategies, and checklists;(4) modules for professional development; (5) blogs; (6) state departments of education resources; and many useful links for educators.

Insight from Vanderbilt University's Center for Teaching on Bloom's levels of intellectual behavior essential to learning.

One of the remarkable benefits of differentiating instruction for students with disabilities is that it significantly improves the way that teachers individualize learning for ALL of their students.Like students with special needs, no two sudents without disabilities learn in exactly the same way.

An outcome of supported inclusive education has been improved teaching and learning that benefits all students.

From the National Center on Secondary Education and Transition, this website describes universal design as "a strategy to support students' access to the general education curriculum." It focuses on principles of universal design and ways to apply them to learning environments. including curricula and text materials.

The National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities addresses five "special factors" listed in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act "that the IEP team must consider in the development, review, and revision of each" student's IEP. The factors include behavior, limited English proficiency, visual impairment, communication needs/hearing, and assistive technology.

During the 1990s, the Hammond Inclusive Teaching Project created a partnership between the School City of Hammond Special Education Department and the Purdue University Calumet College of Education (now the Purdue University Northwest School of Education and Counseling).

The project's mission was to support the inclusion and academic performance of students with individualized education programs (IEPs) in Hammond, Indiana middle and high schools.

Teams of faculty and staff from each Hammond middle and high school worked with Department of Graduate Studies special education faculty in a "train the trainers" model to learn more about supported inclusive education best practices.

Differentiated instruction, co-teaching, and IEP development were the areas of primary focus.

The partnership between School City of Hammond and Purdue University Calumet mutually supported a vision to promote quality of life for students with special needs, their families, and their service providers.